Although shooters generally aim towards realism, there are those who prefer to keep them as they were in the beginning, with hordes of enemies and extra-large guns to handle them. Serious Sam: The First Encounter is one FPS that refuses to adhere to realism standards and provides you with countless hours of fun instead.

Single-handedly save the universe from evil

Sam 'Serious' Stone, as the main character is obviously called, is the last hope of the human kind, after vicious aliens attack Earth and destroy everything in their path. Thus, armed with the biggest weapons you can put your hands on and some serious guts, you stand alone in front of the alien army, prepared to eliminate each and every creature you happen to come across.

The main story line of the game has Mental at its center, which is the evil mastermind controlling the monsters that have invaded the planet. As you might expect, there wasn't too much effort put into the plot, although it is riddled with funny anecdotes and dark humor, which makes the entire experience even more enjoyable. In addition, Sam is portrayed as being cocky and confident, despite the situation at hand and he is always spitting one-liners throughout the game.

Take on massive armies at once

One of the traits that makes Serious Sam: The First Encounter so fun and different from the rest of the shooters out there is the fact that it pits you against hordes of enemies at once, all of which attack you from every side and they barely give you enough time to react. As you might expect, their strength and speed increases with the difficulty level and as you progress through the story, while in the later stages of the game they become downright impossible to handle on the highest difficulty settings.

Graphic-wise, every monster is detailed and well-made, but you have to keep in mind the fact that up to 100 enemies must be rendered on the screen at the same time, each one of which takes its toll on your computer. In addition, there is also a vast amount of gore and blood visible throughout the game, especially when you happen to use slightly more powerful weapons and evaporate your enemies to pieces.

A shooter that redefines the concept of 'fun'

In the end, Serious Sam: The First Encounter created a new genre for itself, one that does not adhere to any standards other than its own. Hence, the amount of fun and entertainment you find in the game cannot by matched by anything else, especially since on higher difficulty levels it becomes very challenging, even for experienced players.

Serious Sam: The First Encounter Demo was reviewed by Alexandru Dulcianu, last updated on September 12th, 2014